Böcker av Richard Stanton

In The Top Valley Enigma, a tale unfolds of a wealthy American conservationist whose solitary and zealous nature leads him to Australia. Motivated by the discovery of ancient human remains and the threat of a new coal mine, his journey takes a turn when he meets a businesswoman from the United States in Melbourne. Their shared interests spark an unexpected partnership, and together they embark on a captivating adventure. Their journey is marked by serene yachting days and a mesmerizing visit to the Great Barrier Reef, experiences that deepen their bond and become pivotal in their lives. The duo aligns with local conservationists and discovers a cattle farm that is crucial to their quest, revealing significant archaeological finds of early human life. Meanwhile, the shadows of a complex past, including a major share trading deal, lurk behind the American conservationist. As their mission to thwart the coal mine gains momentum, they become entwined in a web of past endeavors in conservation. This ignites a wave of revenge from individuals with long memories, profoundly impacted by his previous actions. The Top Valley Enigma masterfully weaves a story of archaeological discovery, environmental activism, and the intricate play of human connections and past deeds.

Richard Stanton has lived a long life and has done all the stuff you would expect him to do in that time and now he's tired so he is going to have a lie down. He still feels relevant because his adult daughter calls him to ask questions about her car's brakes and other important things. He has written about politics, media, widowhood, mountaineering, and death in the outback. Two volumes of his poetry have been published by Ginninderra Press. At different stages of his life he worked as a draftsman, land surveyor, newspaper reporter, newspaper editor, magazine journalist, ski shop manager, university lecturer, and company director. He has earned a BA, an MA and a PhD. His plan is to keep writing, walking, gardening, and taking long naps in the afternoon. And to observe his three fabulous grand-daughters growing into beautiful, intelligent women. He lives with his wife Lorraine and his English springer spaniel, Renegade.

The poems in Richard Stanton's new collection are inspired by landscape and imagination with frequent collisions between the two. Richard's first collection was Seven Car Loads of What You Need. He is also the author of Enngonia Road.

On a lonely highway in the middle of the night, two teenage Aboriginal girls are killed in a crash. Like rag dolls, their bodies are thrown from the Toyota Hilux when it rolls at high speed. One suffers massive internal injuries. The other has her ear and scalp torn off. They bleed out in the dirt. A drunk middle-aged white man crawls out of the crashed ute. It's after midnight. He spreads a green plastic sheet on the stony ground. He drags the dead fifteen-year-old onto the tarp and pulls her pants down. He pushes her top up, exposing her breasts. He tries to have sex with her. He stretches out with his arm across her breasts and goes to sleep. The police charge him. He hires a criminal lawyer from the big end of town. An anonymous benefactor pays his expensive legal costs. The case drags on. Two years later, he fronts court. He walks. This story is about the justice system that saw Alexander Ian Grant acquitted of killing Mona Lisa Smith and Jacinta Rose Smith and of a charge of indecently interfering with fifteen-year-old Jacinta when she was dead. It describes the sad events which led to their violent deaths. It analyses the police case, which was so fragmented that it failed to gain a conviction. It seeks to understand what caused the deaths of the girls, why the police got it so wrong and how the accused walked away from the crash without a scratch and away from the court a free man.